In this study, we aimed to study the relationship between structural characteristics of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) derived from diffusion MRI and the performance of language comprehension. Constrained spherical deconvolution and tractography were used to analyze the diffusion MRI data. A total of 14 right-handed subjects with brain tumors in the left-hemisphere were recruited. Two MRI scan which one before the tumor-removing brain surgery and the other after the surgery were performed. In each scan, a short version of Boston diagnostic aphasia Examination (BDAE) test was applied to evaluate the performance of language comprehension. Four averaged diffusion indices along bilateral AF reconstructed by tractography were extrocted. The results showed thatFA andRD in the left AF changed significantly (p < 0.01) after the surgery, but similar changes were not found in the right AF. Diffusion indices of the left AF tract showed significantly higher (p < 0.01) correlation with the BDAE results (r = 0.6~0.8), relative to the right AF (r = 0.3~0.4). The findings are consistent with previous reports concerning the functional lateralization of the AF.%通过限制球形卷积（constrained spherical deconvolution，CSD）和神经纤维追踪技术（tractography），以了解大脑左右半球的弓状束（arcuate fasciculus，AF）神经结构完整性与语言理解能力的相关性．该文使用磁共振成像（MRI）仪对14例大脑左半球罹患肿瘤的右利手患者进行了术前术后扫描（每次扫描均伴随一次波士顿失语症测试），并用分析软件DSI Studio计算术前术后左右半球弓状束的四项扩散指标，并进行了比较．结果发现左脑弓状束有两项指标在术前术后有非常显著的差异（p <0.01），而右脑四项指标均无显著改变（p >0.05）．另外，该文还将扩散指标与患者相对应的语言测试所反映的语言理解能力进行了相关性分析，发现无论术前术后，左半球弓状束与语言理解能力相关系数 r 介于0.6~0.8之间，而右半球则仅介于0.3~0.4之间．上述结果表明，语言理解能力与左侧弓状束密切相关（p<0.01），而与右侧弓状束相关性不大，此结果与以往研究者对大脑侧化的认知相符．
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